Machine pistol

A machine pistol is a handgun-style, magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and normally chambered for pistol cartridges. The term is a literal translation of Maschinenpistole, the German term for a submachine gun. While the dividing line between machine pistols and compact submachine guns is hard to draw, the term submachine gun usually refers to larger automatic firearms. Typically, a submachine gun's operating mechanism is scaled down from that of a full-sized machine gun, while a machine pistol is built up from a semi-automatic pistol design.

Machine pistols are used by tactical police units such as SWAT teams or hostage rescue teams inside buildings and other cramped spaces. Machine pistols are also used by government security service bodyguards for VIPs and heads of state who need a weapon that can be concealed under clothing. They are also occasionally issued to undercover operatives in anti-drug units such as the US Drug Enforcement Administration, who need a small, concealable weapon with a high rate of fire. In a military setting, machine pistols are issued as personal defense sidearms to paratroopers, artillery crews, helicopter crews or tank crews. They have also been used in close quarters combat (CQC) settings where a small weapon is needed (e.g. by special forces attacking buildings or tunnels).